NEXT GAMES…
Long Beach State (5-13, 2-3 Big West) at UC Davis (13-6, 5-1 Big West)
Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019 | 6:00 p.m. PT | The Pavilion | Davis, Calif.
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM (PxP: Greg Wong)
TV: None

CSUN (10-10, 4-2 Big West) at UC Davis (13-6, 5-1 Big West)
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019 | 2:00 p.m. PT | The Pavilion | Davis, Calif.
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM (PxP: Greg Wong)
TV: None

OPENING TIP: Winners of four straight and 10 of its last 11 games overall, the UC Davis women's basketball team looks continue its run of success at home this week, hosting a pair of Big West foes at The Pavilion. The Aggies open against Long Beach State on Thursday (Jan. 31) at 6 p.m., before facing rival CSUN for the second time in a week on Saturday (Feb. 2) at 2:00 p.m. as part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, as various UC Davis athletic teams will be hosting pregame sports clinics on the upper concourse of The Pavilion beginning at 1 p.m.

BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in UC Davis athletics by "liking" us on Facebook (facebook.com/UCDavisAggies) and following us on Twitter (@UCDavisAggies). You can also "like" women's basketball (facebook.com/UCDavisWomensBasketball) as well as follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@ UCDavisWBB). In-game updates on game day are also available on Twitter by following @UCDavisWBB.

IN THE POLLS: Neither UC Davis, Long Beach State, nor CSUN, are ranked nationally entering the week. The Aggies are back among those receiving votes in the Jan. 29 College Insider Mid-Major poll, picking up two votes for the first time since gaining 10 votes in the Jan. 8 poll.

ABOUT THE 49ERS: Long Beach State enters the week with a 5-13 overall record and a 2-3 mark in Big West Conference play after falling to UC Riverside (73-59) and CSUN (51-37) at home to extend its losing streak to three games following four straight wins... The 49ers are just 2-5 away from home this season, having won two of their last three... Sophomore Shanaijah Davison (a Woodland, Calif., native who prepped at Pioneer HS) leads a trio of Long Beach State players in double figures, averaging 13.3 ppg and shooting .357 from the floor overall... Freshman Justina King (10.4 ppg) and sophomore Naomi Hunt (10.3 ppg) are also in double figures, the latter leading the squad shooting just under 42 percent from the field.

ABOUT THE MATADORS: CSUN enters the week at 10-10 overall and 4-2 against Big West competition, taking on Cal State Fullerton before traveling north to Davis on Saturday... The Matadors have won three of their last four, with the only loss in that stretch coming against the Aggies last week... CSUN is 4-7 away from home this season, winning its last two... Senior Channon Fluker is the lone Matador in double figures, averaging 15.1 ppg and 10.9 rpg while shooting 47 percent from the floor while leading the nation in blocks per game (3.6 bpg).

SERIES NOTES: UC Davis is 15-18 in the all-time series with Long Beach State that dates back to 1971, but the Aggies have won the last two meetings after the 49ers had railed off four consecutive victories... UC Davis is 10-6 at home against Long Beach State following last year's, 79-49, victory at The Pavilion -- winning for the first time at home since 2015, while completing a regular season sweep of the 49ers for the first time since 2010... UC Davis leads the all-time series with CSUN by a 25-16 count dating back to 1980... The Aggies have won nine of the last 12 meetings following a 60-49 victory at The Matadome last week... The Aggies are 14-5 at home against CSUN, winning the last four meetings at The Pavilion dating back to a, 56-52, defeat on Jan. 9, 2014.

YET ANOTHER FOR THE RECORD "BERTSCH": Senior biomedical engineering major Morgan Bertsch added yet another career record to her long list of successes as an Aggie, hitting 5-of-6 from the line against CSUN and Cal State Fullerton to pass Sarah Allen (1998-03) for the most makes in school history with 388. It is the fifth career record for Bertsch, who owns school marks for points (2,120), field goals made (857), field goals attempted (1,586), and blocked shots (178).

NO POINTS FOR YOU!: After limiting CSUN to just 49 points in the opener last week, the Aggies' defense did themselves 10 points better two days later against Cal State Fullerton, holding the Titans to just 39 points in a 36-point victory. It was the fewest points allowed by UC Davis this season -- and the fewest since holding Fullerton to 39 points nearly two years ago to the day -- while standing tied for the fourth fewest points allowed in a single game in the program's Division I history.

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?: In holding Fullerton to just 26 percent from the field, the Aggies' defense posted its second-lowest opponent field goal percentage of the season (.231 vs. Dominican) and the fourth time that they have held an opponent to under 30 percent shooting this season. In fact, it is the lowest single-game shooting percentage by an Aggie Division I opponent since UC Irvine shot just 22.2 percent on Feb. 11, 2017.

BIG WIN IN THE BIG WEST: The Aggies' 36-point win over Fullerton is their largest over a conference opponent since they shut down UC Irvine to the tune of a 41-point victory in the 2017 conference season opener.

IN THE MARGINS: 10 of the team's 13 wins this season -- including both games last week -- have come via double-digit margins (including six of those by 20 points or more and three more of 30 points or more), while four of the team's six defeats have come by seven points or fewer this season.

SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR WINNING: The Aggies have played more games on Saturday than any other day this season and that has proved to be a good thing, improving to 6-1 on that day of the week following its win at Cal State Fullerton.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A POINT MAKES: UC Davis is 13-2 this season when it scores 60-or-more points, but is 0-4 when scoring 59 points or fewer.

MMMM... TURNOVERS: UC Davis has forced the opposition into a total of 68 turnovers (13.6 per game) over its last five contests, turning those into 77 points for the good. The Aggies, who rank 51st in the nation in the fewest turnovers (266), have also done well to hold on to the ball and limit the damage done in that same stretch, committing only 61 in that span (12.2 per game) while allowing just 50 points off those miscues.

DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): Saturday's clash with CSUN marks the second meeting in the span of a week between two of the league's stingiest squads, as the Matadors (52.0 ppg) and Aggies (53.3) rank 1-2 in the Big West in scoring defense since the start of league play. Allowing a conference best 59.9 ppg overall, UC Davis also paces the Big West in field goal percentage defense (.355) and three-point percentage defense (.276) -- ranking 25th and 42nd in the nation, respectively, in those two categories.

WHAT'S A FEW MORE FEET?: UC Davis enters the week pacing the Big West in three-point percentage (.344), three pointers made (157), and three-pointers per game (8.3), while standing among the top 40 teams in the nation in three's made (39th) and three-pointers per game (35th).

LIGHTS OUT: Following a momentary hiccup that saw them shoot just 37 percent in a defensive battle at CSUN last week, the Aggies picked up right where they left off against the Titans, draining just over 55 percent of their shots in the win over Cal State Fullerton. The .551 field goal percentage is second only to the .579 shooting night against Nevada on Dec. 1. The UC Davis offense has shot better than 40 percent from the field 14 times this season, including topping the 50 percent plateau four times against Sacramento State (.545), Dominican (.540), UC Irvine (.529) and Cal State Fullerton, en route to a 12-2 mark in those contests.

2K-19: Thanks to a pair of free throws with 4:32 remaining in the Aggies' contest at UC Riverside on Jan. 5, Bertsch became the first student-athlete since the Highlanders' Brittany Crain in 2016 to reach (and surpass) 2,000 points in a career, finishing with a game-high 31 points in front of an ESPN3 audience. Entering the week standing seventh on the league's all-time scoring list, the Santa Rosa, Calif., native needs only 21 more points to pass Idaho's Alli Nieman (1996-00), who is sixth on the chart with 2,140 points, and 74 more to pass Long Beach State's Penny Toler (2,193 points from 1987-89) for a spot in the top five.

MORGAN ON A ROLL: Hold the mayo. Following her 19 points at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Bertsch has now scored in double figures in her last 54 consecutive contests dating back to last season -- and 104 of 119 games overall in her career. The high-scoring Santa Rosa, Calif., native has not been held to single digits since March 23, 2017, in a WNIT "Sweet 16" match-up against Washington State (six points), and has been held without a point in a game only once in her career – at Colorado State on March 19, 2017, in the second round of the WNIT.

STAYING ACTIVE: With her 2,120 career points, Bertsch ranks sixth among active players in the NCAA in that category (as of Jan. 28) while also standing fourth in career field goals (857).

SENIOR MOMENT: Already the highest scoring sophomore (520 points) and junior (702 points) in the history of the program, Bertsch is making a big push to become the highest-scoring senior in the history of the school, needing just 148 more points to pass Staci Stevens' 600 points during the 1987-88 campaign. Carol Rische, whom Bertsch passed to become the all-time leading scorer in women's basketball history, is the highest-scoring freshman in the program, scoring 459 points in 1979-80.

MAKING HER POINT: Currently leading the Aggies with the nation's fourth-highest point total (416), Bertsch is on track to pace UC Davis in scoring for a fourth time -- something only one other player has done in the program's history, joining former school scoring champ Carol Rische, who accomplished the feat from 1979-83.

THE 600 CLUB: Bertsch's 12 rebounds this past week pushed the senior to yet another milestone, making her just the fifth player in the program's Division I history to reach the 600-rebound plateau, joining Alyson Doherty (708), Celia Marfone (682), Pele Gianotti (616), and Paige Mintun (606), and became only the fifth player in that same span to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a career along with Doherty, Gianotti, Mintun, and Sydnee Fipps. Bertsch needs just 16 more to break into the all-time top 10, matching Gianotti's career total.

SHE'S A HELPER: No one player to ever wear a UC Davis basketball uniform has tallied more assists than senior psychology major Kourtney Eaton, who passed former Aggie great Angelo Rivers (a four-year letter winner for the men's team from 1982-86) with her 468th career assist on Morgan Bertsch's game-winner against Saint Mary's back on Dec. 17. Eaton, who has led the team in the category in each of the last two seasons, currently ranks 12th in assists among active NCAA players as of Jan. 28 with 499.

EATON 500: Senior psychology major Kourtney Eaton enters the week just a single solitary assist shy of reaching 500 for her career and is on the verge of breaking into one of the most selective clubs in Big West history. The Longview, Wash., native needs only 15 more to pass Long Beach State's Penny Toler (1987-89) for 10th place on the league's career assist list, which would make her only the third player in conference history to break into the top 10 since the 1999-00 season, joining the 49ers' Reta Sula (1997-01) -- who ranks ninth with 519 assists -- and CSUN's Ashlee Guay (2011-15) -- who is seventh with 541 assists.

BOMBING AWAY IN BUNCHES: The Aggies combined to hit 42 percent (23-of-55) of their shots from beyond the arc last week in Northridge and Fullerton -- giving UC Davis three-straight games with double-digit makes from beyond the arc for the second time this season. Shooting .427 (33-for-78) from three-point range during that stretch, the Aggies' 12 makes and 55 percent shooting from long distance were the second highest totals this season, trailing only the 15 makes and .556 shooting vs. Dominican.

SPLASH SISTERS: Bertsch may be doing work inside, but that hasn't stopped the Aggie sharpshooters from doing their thing from beyond the arc this season. In all, four Aggies rank among the league's top 10 in three-point percentage: senior psychology major Karley Eaton (4th - .397), Kourtney Eaton (6th - .375), junior biological sciences major Sophia Song (8th - .365), and junior human development major Cierra McKeown (t9th - .360). Junior communication major Nina Bessolo (1.9 per game) is joined by McKeown (1.5 per game) and Kourtney Eaton (1.5 per game) among the league leaders in three-pointers per game, standing  fourth and tied for seventh, respectively.

WORKING BEYOND THE ARC: UC Davis has made a three-pointer in 483 consecutive games dating back to Feb. 15, 2003, at Cal State San Bernardino. Since then, UC Davis has hit .347 from beyond the arc (3,287-for-9,473).

NINA KNOWS SCORING: Junior communication major Nina Bessolo is on a bit of a scoring binge as of late, reaching double figures in each of her last three contests, averaging 12.3 ppg while shooting 50 percent from both the field overall (13-for 26) and beyond the arc (10-for-20). The Hayward, Calif., native has reached double figures 11 times this season, including a career-high 21 points at Sacramento State on Dec. 7.

MISS EFFICIENT: One of the most efficient players in the Big West -- if not the nation -- Bertsch enters the week having scored nearly a point per minute played this season with 452 points in 525 minutes. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native has scored more points than minutes played seven times this season: Washington State (34 points-31 minutes), Sacramento State (40-22), Seattle (28-25), Dominican (22-17), UC Riverside (31-29), Cal State Fullerton (25-23), and UC Irvine (29-27).

I'LL TAKE MORGAN FOR 20: Bertsch has posted 12 games with at least 20 points this season and notched the 50th such performance of her career (extending her school record) earlier this year against UC Irvine. Having reached double figures in 104 of her 119 career contests, that means she is pretty much assured to hit the 20-point plateau every other time she takes the court.

START ME UP: Of her 119 career appearances in an Aggie uniform, Bertsch has missed only six starts -- all coming during her freshman year -- and enters the week having started the team's last 92 consecutive contests dating back to the "Senior Day" game against CSUN in 2015-16. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native is one of only five players in the program's Division I history to start more than 100 games, joining Kasey Riecks (120), Alyson Doherty (113), Celia Marfone (109), and Hana Asano (102).

TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS: The program's all-time scoring leader needs someone to get her ball, and who better than the program's all-time assists queen. Of Kourtney's record-setting 499 career assists, 138 of those (or just under 28 percent) have led to points by Bertsch, including a high of 49 such passes (or nearly one-third) out of 154 assists as juniors last season, and 32 assists together through 18 games together thus far this season.

40-SOMETHING: Bertsch is one of only 13 players in the NCAA (as of Jan. 7) to have scored 40 points in a game this season joining Lamar's Moe Kinard (58), Northern Illinois' Mikayla Voigt (52), Louisiana Tech's Kierra Anthony (50), Pepperdine's Yasmine Robinson-Bacote (47), Iowa's Megan Gustafson (44), Kennesaw State Kamiyah Street (41), Idaho's Mikayla Ferenz (40), and North Texas' Terriell Bradley (40).
 

---

ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

AGGIE EVO
Launched in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.